Vienna Wine Hiking Day Weekend

Schedule your vacation or holiday to coincide with the annual Vienna Wine Hiking Day Weekend!

Look for these signs to point you in the right direction

What is Vienna Wine Hiking Day Weekend?

Held every September, the Vienna Wine Hiking Day Weekend is the public’s only opportunity to freely hike from vineyard to vineyard in the beautiful Viennese countryside. There are four main routes and you can start anywhere you want. From wine connoisseurs to nature enthusiasts, there is something for everyone. It’s a family friendly event as well, we saw lots of parents with kids in tow. Everyone was out and enjoying the late autumn sunshine!

View of Vienna from the vineyards

What to Expect

We couldn’t find much information about the event online, so we chose to simply show up at one of the main vineyards, Weingut Cobenz. Luckily the vineyard had an official event information booth, which answered all of our questions. The booth has maps available, so you can plan the rest of your day too. The guides at the information booth speak several languages (including English) and can give you recommendations based on what you are looking to get out of your day.

In 2015, there were four routes:

Neustift am Walde – Sievering (1.6 km)

Sievering – Gspöttgraben – Weingut Cobenzl (2.3 km)

Weingut Cobenzl – Grinzing (1.6 km)

Grinzing – Nussdorf (5.3 km)

We got a late start, so we ended up choosing the shortest route, Weingut Conbezl to Grinzing. We found Weingut Cobenzl (Cobenzl Vineyards) to be the perfect starting point! Plenty of wine to sample, plus some awesome local cheese and sausage to purchase too. The weather was beautiful at this point in the day, so we found some chairs to relax. We bought a bottle of wine, a couple plates of cheese, and kicked back under the sun.

NOTE: Expect to pay a deposit on your glass at each vineyard. At Weingut Cobenzl, the deposit was five Euro. However, just return your glass and deposit ticket and you get your five Euro back!

Our second stop was Weinbau Hengl, and you can see from the picture below that it was getting cooler with rain on the way. That didn’t stop the crowds though, this place was buzzing with people and it had great live music playing.

Weinbau Hengl Vineyard

In addition to the lively atmosphere, Weinbau Hengl is a great spot for wandering the vineyards. The property is gorgeous, with rolling hills and plenty of photo ops!

Wandering the vineyards

We weren’t sure what to expect in terms of dress for the day prior to arriving. However, no need to worry about dressing up; hiking clothes (and hiking poles) are welcome and encouraged. While we didn’t find our route to need hiking gear, some of the longer routes might require more durable gear. We were quite comfortable in our athletic clothes and tennis shoes.

Hiking clothes and poles welcome!

When drinking wine and hiking all day, eating is probably a good idea. 🙂 Lucky for you, several vineyards serve food along the way. We found lots of options: small appetizer cheese plates, sausages (hot dogs), burgers, pretzels and pizza. However, if you are looking for a more substantial meal, there are plenty of restaurants along the Weingut Conbezl to Grinzing route. Many restaurants start popping up as you get closer to Grinzing.

Cafe in Grinzing

Our last stop for the day was a small park in Grinzing. We decided to make this a stop for one specific reason: to try the traditional alcoholic beverage, Sturm.

Sturm (or Federweiss in German) is basically fermented super-freshly pressed grape juice. It’s not as high in alcohol as wine, so it’s served in mugs. Sturm is only available for a few weeks a year at the end of September and beginning of October. Vienna Wine Hiking Day Weekend is the perfect time to try it!

Sturm anyone?

>> PIN FOR LATER! <<

Getting There

A wonderful fact about the vineyards surrounding Vienna, is that they are accessible by public transportation, which is available seven days a week. No need to rent a car or designate a driver. Simply hop on a tram or bus and you’ll be in wine country in no time!

A few transportation options to help you get started:

Bus line 35A to start in Neustift am Walde

Bus Line 39A to start in Sievering

Bus line 38A to start in Grinzing

Tram D to start in Nussdorf

What to Bring

The day of our visit, we had weather go from cool and cloudy, to sunny and warm, to cool and rainy, all within about 5 hours. So, we highly recommend dressing in layers! A wind proof and water proof jacket is a great option.

We also carried a backpack with us, where we stashed sunscreen, umbrellas, water, wet wipes and our camera. All of which came in handy throughout the day. Additionally, cash is king! Many places will not accept credit cards.

Where to Stay

Vienna is easily navigated by public transportation, so you really can stay anywhere. If you’re planning to spend more than a day in the vineyards, you may want to consider staying in either the 18th or 19th districts (Währing or Döbling)for easier access.

We chose to stay in Döbling for this specific weekend and found it to be a perfect location. Döbling was easy to reach from the main transportation hubs (about 30 minutes from Wien Westbahnhof) and also close to the vineyards, without staying in a super touristy area. There is a great traditional restaurant called Fischer Bräu in Döbling. Plenty of delicious meat and vegetarian options at an affordable price. Plus, they make their own beer!

10 comments

Wow, this looks like a lot of fun and beautiful too. I’ve never heard of Sturm, sounds interesting and too bad it’s only available for such a short time, I hope I’m there one day to give a try! Great guide too for this event!

What a fun thing to do! I love hiking, and I love drinking – never thought to combine them 🙂 That sturm looks really good, actually! When we were in Austria this past December, we really enjoyed drinking the Glüwein (warm, spiced wine) from mugs at the xmas markets.

Sounds like a fun day! I love wine and hope to visit some wineries over in Europe. This sounds like the place! How smart are they to require a deposit on the wine glasses? LOL After a few glasses, I’m sure people forget!

We were planning a trip to Eastern Europe with a couple of days in Vienna. The wine hiking looks like an amazing experience that we must include in our list of to do activities. A great opportunity to visit the vineyards and sample great wine. Thanks for sharing a wonderful and informative post.

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Meet Matt & Alana

Hello! We’re Matt and Alana, two Americans with a passion for traveling and experiencing new places. We are former full-time world travelers transitioning back to a U.S. way of life. Follow along as we figure out how to make the most of our vacation time and get the best bang for our buck in America and abroad!